Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse - HERO on a Budget

As gamers, we want the best peripherals. One bad accessory can spoil an entire game, but a full set of high-end peripherals can cost hundreds of dollars. Logitech is out to change that. Today, we’re looking at the G305 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse. It features their incredible HERO sensor, with excellent tracking and astounding 250 hour - 9 month battery life, compromise free wireless for only $59.99. Is there a catch? Read on to find out in our official review.

The two technologies power the G305 are Logitech’s proprietary LIGHTSPEED wireless and their stellar new HERO (High Efficiency Rated Optical) sensor. If this is the first time you’re hearing about them, it certainly won’t be the last as these technologies are poised to lead Logitech peripherals into the future and for good reason. Both change the landscape for wireless gaming peripherals and, as we can see with the G305, don’t need to empty your pocketbook to do it.

LIGHTSPEED wireless promises to be a zero compromises wireless solution that eliminates the difference between wired and wireless gaming mice. In fact, the materials Logitech sent us indicate that they’ve benchmarked lightspeed at double the responsiveness of some wired mice (though we have no way to test that ourselves). What we can say is that, side by side with a handful of high-end and quite expensive mice with wired options - Roccat Leadr, ASUS ROG Pugio, Corsair Scimitar, and Logitech’s own G600, for those curious - I couldn’t feel any difference at all, even in intense gaming sessions where response time and accuracy are crucial. Note that, with the exception of the G600, all of those mice cost substantially more.

The other innovation is Logitech’s new HERO sensor. HERO is Logitech’s follow-up to their incredibly popular PMW3366 sensor, versions of which still dominate the world of gaming mice. That alone should be enough to catch the interest of any gamer, but HERO underwent rigorous in-house development, resulting in a sensor that is not only more accurate but also offers ten times the power efficiency.

The results are pretty amazing. A single AA battery will power the G305 for 250 hours of use-time in its Performance Mode and nine months of use-time in Endurance Mode. Performance Mode offers up response times of 1ms, equal to the most high-end wired mice, and perfect for competitive gaming. Endurance Mode slows that down to 8ms, which makes it a good fit for browsing the web or playing slower paced games. A battery indicator will alert you when there’s 15% of the battery remaining but even in its Performance Mode, that’s nearly 40 additional hours of actual use time. The one thing I wish is that that was a physical switch to swap between modes, like on the G603.

The USB dongle is stored alongside the battery

Looking a little bit closer at the sensor, it offers DPI settings between 100 - 12,000 and a maximum speed of 400 IPS. Four DPI settings can be stored on board and swapped with the DPI selector under the mouse wheel, indicated with a different colored light. HERO also eliminates smoothing across the entire DPI spectrum, ensuring that your motions are accurate no matter where your comfort level is.

Pulling back to look at the mouse as a whole, this is really where we find the compromise in the price to performance ratio. Like the G Pro headset we looked at over the weekend, the G305 is emphasizes performance over flash. There aren’t any RGB lights here (they’d kill the battery, anyway) or extra buttons; the design is about as simple as it comes.

For all that simplicity, though, it feels great in the hand. The mouse is well-sculpted and comfortable to use in a claw- or palm-style grip. The thumb buttons are easy to press but shifted up just enough to prevent mis-clicks. As we’ve come to expect from Logitech, the feedback on each of the buttons is great with a deeper and more pronounced click than on many mice. The left and right buttons also use 50-million click-life Omrons, so you won’t have to worry about them dying an early death.

The G305 is also a light mouse. With a standard AA battery installed, it weighs only 99-grams. This makes it perfect for shooters. Installing a lithium-ion battery will cut this down by an additional 9g, while also extended Performance Mode battery life by an additional fifty use-hours.

All of the buttons can also be remapped inside the Logitech Gaming Software. This is also where you’ll select elements like your polling rate and whether or not you’d like to use game-specific profiles. One of the “killer features” of LGS is its automatic game detection, which will switch your profile to the game at the forefront of the screen. Swap back to the desktop and you default profile takes over once more. It’s a time saver.

Final Thoughts

If you’re the kind of user who doesn’t need a dozen additional buttons or RGB lighting, the G305 is one of the best options available. With amazing battery life, exceptional performance, and response times that compete with the best wireless mice on the market, $59.99 is a great price of entry to try LIGHTSPEED and HERO for yourself.

Pros

Amazing battery life

Wired performance without the wires

Simple but well-done design

Lightweight, with convenient dongle storage inside the shell

Cons

Performance and Endurance modes can only be switched inside the software

The product discussed in this review was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.

Christopher Coke / Chris has been a fan of MMOs since the mid-1990s when he cut his teeth on MUDs. These days he scours the internet for the latest and greatest multiplayer gaming experiences.